Power's Brazilian striker not expecting a smooth ride

Perth Glory's home ground is an intimidating place where sell-out crowds barrack with passion. But Parramatta Power striker Fernando Rech isn't worried. After all, he has played in a Brazilian Cup final in front of 120,000 partisan fans at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, and that helps him keep perspective.

"In Australia it is a nice atmosphere, even if they are supporting the other team. In Brazil, the atmosphere was very strong. It was hard to think about what you were doing, but it was a good feeling to be playing in front of so many," said Rech, who played for Juventude, cup winners in 1999.

"It will be difficult in Perth but we will concentrate on the game. We will be strong in the game and strong in the mind."

Rech left the field during last Sunday's 4-2 victory over Perth with a broken nose and cheekbone after a clash with Glory defender Jamie Harnwell. He recovered and flew west with the rest of the Power squad yesterday but doesn't know if he will be ready for the second leg of the major semi-final on Saturday.

"I'm not 100 per cent fit," he said. "I will just have to wait and see. It's up to the coach."

Rech dismissed speculation that he was the victim of foul play by Harnwell, who had to leave the field himself after a collision with Lucas Pantelis left him with six stitches above the eye. "It was a 50-50 tackle," Rech said. "I think I might have been hit by his elbow but I'm not sure. It was a hard challenge but that's OK."

Power coach Nick Theodorakopoulos has taken along youth team player Mark Bridge as a back-up striker.

The Power will continue to play aggressive soccer at Members Equity Stadium, knowing last week's 4-2 result means they will make the grand final if they win, draw or lose by a single goal. If they lose by two goals, the Power must have scored at least three because of the away-goals rule.

"The instinct for attacking and creating will always be there," Theodorakopoulos said. "There is no need to sit back, the players are really looking forward to it. The Perth crowd can be somewhat volatile over there but we've dealt with that before and we will maintain our professionalism.

"I think that last week's match caught the imagination of the soccer community. I'd like to believe that we can create some tribalism in Sydney, unite the soccer people of Sydney before the APL [Australian Premier League] starts up. We are trying to do that."

Parramatta may revert to a two-man attack for the vital away clash, giving a more attacking role to former Perth midfielder Andre Gumprecht, who was outstanding against his old side last week. Theodorakopoulos will have to decide whether to start Saso Petrovski, who did well when he replaced Rech last week, or introduce him off the bench.

Either way, the Power coach is in a much better position than his Glory counterpart Mich d'Avray. Perth's star forward Bobby Despotovski is suspended after being sent off for a crude foul against Parramatta. Nick Mrdja, who looked sharp when he came on as a substitute last week, is likely to start up front alongside Damian Mori.

If defending champions Perth do pull off a big win, they will be defying history. Only one team has ever battled through from a first-leg defeat in a major semi-final and still made the final, but that team was - you guessed it - Perth, in 2000 against the Wollongong Wolves.